Durbin Statement Of Biden-Harris Administration's Selection Of 15 Additional Prescription Drugs For Medicare Price Negotiations

Durbin Statement Of Biden-Harris Administration's Selection Of 15 Additional Prescription Drugs For Medicare Price Negotiations

Because of authority granted by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the next set of medications that Medicare ewill negotiate for lower prices

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the Biden-Harris Administration's selection of 15 additional prescription drugs for Medicare price negotiation. In August, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that it had negotiated price reductions for 10 of the most expensive and frequently-dispensed drugs in the Medicare program.

"Americans should not be priced out of accessing medications that they need to lead a healthy life. Yet, Big Pharma continues to charge outrageous prices for lifesaving medications. It's why passage of the Inflation Reduction Act was historic. Because Democrats in Congress passed the monumental law - without the support of a single Republican - the Biden-Harris Administration is cutting costs for American patients.

"Medicare now has the authority to negotiate down the cost of an additional 15 commonly-used prescription drugs, saving seniors in Illinois millions of dollars in prescription drug costs. While Congressional Republicans threaten to repeal this law's drug price reductions, Democrats will keep working to protect this law and lower prices further."

The Inflation Reduction Act, which Durbin strongly advocated for, provided the Biden-Harris Administration with the authority to negotiate drug prices with Big Pharma, resulting in price reductions of up to 79 percent for some medications last year.

The Inflation Reduction Act also capped costs for covered insulin at $35 per month under Medicare, made recommended vaccines available at no costs for 1.4 million seniors in Illinois, established a limit on annual out-of-pocket cost at $2,000, and requires drug companies to pay a rebate to Medicare if they raise prices faster than the rate of inflation.

The 15 drugs that the Biden-Harris Administration announced today are used by five million seniors and cost the Medicare program $41 billion in the past year:

• Ozempic; Rybelsus; Wegovy - Type 2 diabetes medication;
• Trelegy Ellipta - Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medication;
• Xtandi - prostate cancer medication;
• Pomalyst - Kaposi sarcoma, Multiple myeloma medication;
• Ibrance - Breast cancer medication;
• Ofev - Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis medication;
• Linzess - Chronic idiopathic constipation, Irritable bowel syndrome medication;
• Calquence - Chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma medication;
• Austedo/Austedo XR - Chorea in Huntington's disease medication;
• Breo Ellipta - Asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medication;
• Tradjenta - Type 2 diabetes medication;
• Xifaxan - Hepatic encephalopathy, Irritable bowel syndrome medication;
• Vraylar - Bipolar I disorder, Major depressive disorder, Schizophrenia medication;
• Janumet, Janumet XR - Type 2 diabetes medication; and
• Otezla - Oral ulcers in Behçet's Disease, Plaque psoriasis, Psoriatic arthritis medication.

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